Prior to making a decision upon this project, you need to learn as much as possible about the breed and also about the needs and direction of the cattle industry as a whole. Then, with these things in mind, your selection should be based upon these needs and the role that Texas Longhorn cattle can play in fulfilling these needs.

A decision must be made upon entering the beef industry whether you are to be involved in the production of beef in the form of market steers. The decision should be based upon your personal desires, land availability, and financial position. It may be helpful to visit with your local extension agent, Vo-Ag teacher, and parents prior to making these decisions.

The breeding and improvement of cattle is a slow process. Changes do not occur overnight. Be patient and set goals as to where your progeny should be in the future. These goals should be realistic and achievable. Keep in mind the trend of the breed and the industry along with where you think these ideals will be in the future. Stick by these goals and change them only for a proper and rational reason. If you change your goals daily, you will never have complete control over your program, and it will become impossible to predict future production or to improve your cattle through selection and breeding.

After you have become familiar with the beef cattle industry and made the decisions regarding your program, it is time to start searching for your animal. Visit as many producers and view as many cattle as possible. Make your decision based upon sound and economically important principles.

Understand why you selected one animal over another. The animal you select, whether it be a heifer, bull or steer, should be the best example of the breed that you can purchase.

There are a few basic criteria that should be considered regardless of what segment of the industry you choose to enter. They are as follows:

1. AGE - Select an animal that will meet the age requirements of the shows that you plan to attend. By selecting a heifer of young age, you will be able to show her for a longer period of time prior to her becoming ineligible. In the selection of market steers for show, age is very critical. Market steers are required to have their two front baby teeth intact to exhibit at many shows, and these teeth tend to drop around 18 months of age. Some will drop earlier and some later.
2. CONFORMATION - You should select an animal that is correct in its structure. Exhibiting strong feet and legs, moving freely and smoothly as it walks, a strong topline, and a muscle structure that is long and smooth are conformation characteristics to keep in mind.
3. PERFORMANCE - Measurements of individual productive performance should be considered. Some of these items are weaning weights, weight ratios, and weight per day of age. These must be used to determine if the animal is truly a more efficient animal. An animal with a high adjusted weaning weight that ranks high within its herd is most likely to be more profitable than one with a much lower growth rate.

These traits should play a role in the selection of your project. Look at the sire and dam of your prospective animal and study their performance history. You want to select an animal which is the progeny of parents that excel in the economically important traits within the industry, as these are genetically heritable. Some of these traits are weight, calving interval, maternal abililty, carcass traits, birth weight, etc.

Remember, animals from different herds cannot be compared on the basis of performance. There are many differences in the management practices and environmental conditions present. Therefore, comparisons should be limited to animals within their own herd, raised under the same conditions.

SELECTING HEIFERS

Breeding animal projects are a long-term commitment, with no financial return until after two years or longer - when their progeny is marketed.

Your initial selection is critical to your breeding program because your future success will depend on this selection.

Choose your heifer at the earliest possible age. Your heifer should be feminine in appearance, smooth in its muscling, and correct in structure. Heifers should be trim, with clean lines, and exhibit refinement in their features.

Look for a strong, level top line and smooth shoulders that blend well.

Select a heifer that has a feminine look about her head and neck and an udder which attaches high in the rear and strongly in the front with four evenly spaced teats.

This heifer should exhibit a broody appearance with ample body capacity and have a balanced appearance from front and rear.

Breed character is defined as those traits which an animal possesses which are unique and distinctive to one breed of cattle, such as horn shape and size, small ears, long, feminine head, etc.

Show requirements vary from one show to the next. You should take the time to familiarize yourself with these requirements, such as date of ownership, transfer, and age classification of heifers. You should try to select a heifer which will fall into the older end of the class so that she will exhibit more size due to the importance that growth rate plays in the beef cattle industry.

SELECTING BULLS

The Texas Longhorn breed has special bull classes for juniors. This breed is one of the few breeds which does so. These classes help to expose junior cattlemen to a more complete breeding program as the bull is certainly an extremely important part of the individual's breeding program - contributing at least one-half of the genetics to your future production.

When selecting a bull, many factors must be evaluated. Your prospective bull should exhibit masculinity, size, breed character, conformation, pedigree, and be a product of parents with a history of reproductive efficiency.

The industry today not only wants cattle which gain quickly and convert feed or roughage to red meat efficiently, but also is striving for cattle that reproduce annually and begin this production at an early age. Your bull should be selected with these traits as well as others in mind.

Bulls should exhibit a masculine appearance. The prospective bull should be masculine in the head and carry this masculinity throughout its body. Muscling should be long and smooth in its structure, displaying thickness over the top and through the hindquarters. The shoulders should be smooth, blending in well with the body. The bull should stand squarely on a sound set of feet and legs. At a walk, the bull should move out freely and easily. This is an indication that he will be able to travel over long distances to service the cow herd.

A potential sire should be large-framed and be one of the more growthy individuals when selected from a group of contemporaries.

When selectilng a bull, one should always research its sire and dam. The dam should be a heavy milker and have a history of calving annually, and the sire of this bull should have a history of consistently producing offspring of high market acceptability.

SELECTION OF YOUNG STEERS

Texas Longhorn cattle possess many characteristics which are unique to this breed. Therefore, the TLBT offers a show ring classification for registered Texas Longhorn steers.

These steers are judged on historical conformation, shape and size of horn, and color. It is for these characteristics that you should select your Texas Longhorn Young Steer. Age is an important factor in any show due to the fact that the older animal will exhibit more horn and body size. With this in mind, you should try to select an individual which will be as close as possible to the oldest allowable age in its class.

CROSSBREED DIVISION

All crossbreed entries, both steers and heifers, must be F1 crosses with either a TLBAA registered Texas Longhorn dam or a TLBAA registered Texas Longhorn sire. Entries for the National Show Crossbreed Division must be completed and sent to the TLBAA Office, attention Show Coordinator, no later than 90 days prior to the National Show. ___________________________________________